Erik Melén

Erik Melén

Professor/Specialist Physician | Head of department

Professor of Pediatrics and Head of Department at KI SÖS. Researches childhood asthma, allergy and lung development, with a focus on genetic and environmental factors.&#160

Telephone: +46852487508
Visiting address: KI/Institutionen för klinisk forskning och utbildning, SÖS, 11883 Stockholm
Postal address: S1 Klinisk forskning och utbildning, Södersjukhuset, S1 KI SÖS Forskning Pediatrik Melén, 118 83 Stockholm
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About me


  • I am Professor of Pediatrics and Head of the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, at Karolinska Institutet. I am also a pediatric allergist at Sachs’ Children’s Hospital and Principal Investigator of the BAMSE study. I chair the steering group for Clinicum, methodological support for researchers at KI and Region Stockholm. 



    I received my MD from Uppsala University in 2001 and my PhD in epidemiology from Karolinska Institutet in 2006, focusing on genetic factors in childhood asthma and allergy. In 2009–2010, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. I became Associate Professor of Epidemiology in 2012 and Professor of Pediatrics in 2019. 



    My research focuses on respiratory and allergic diseases in children, particularly how genetic and environmental factors interact and influence lung development, asthma and allergy from childhood into adulthood. My research group consists of around ten people (from PhD student to Assistant Professor).

Research

  • My research focuses on respiratory and allergic diseases in children, with a particular interest in the interplay between genetic and environmental factors in lung development, asthma and allergy. A major part of my research is based on the Swedish BAMSE birth cohort, which enables us to study lung function and respiratory and allergic diseases from childhood into adulthood. 

    We investigate environmental exposures including air pollution and tobacco smoke, together with genetic and molecular factors. Our research combines detailed clinical and epidemiological data with genome-wide approaches, including GWAS, DNA methylation analyses, RNA sequencing as well as large-scale proteomics analyses. 

    The overall aim is to better understand why respiratory and allergic diseases develop and why some individuals are particularly vulnerable to environmental exposures. Current research includes the long-term effects of preterm birth on lung function, susceptibility to air pollution and genetic mechanisms involved in disease development. 

    The research is conducted through extensive national and international collaborations. 

Teaching

  • I regularly teach at KI:s PhD and master programs.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2025 - 31 December 2028
    G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play crucial roles in many biological functions in our body and they are the target of about 30% of all approved drugs. Despite advancements in technology and our understanding of molecular pharmacology, we still have much to learn about these important receptors. This includes how autoreactive antibodies (AAbs) circulating in blood can regulate in the function of GPCRs and how this contributes to human disease.  We successfully established a world-unique approach for studying full-length GPCRs for their potential to interact with other membrane proteins and antibodies, confirming their functional integrity and quality. Our knowledge about &gt
    200 GPCRs allows uncover new meachanism for how AAbs recognize interacting GPCRs and how this regulates the function of GPCRs in an organ-specific manner. To address this, we willAdapt our current multiplexed analysis framework to the analysis of body fluidsDetermine the autoimmune-recognition of GPCR interactomes in longitudinal cohorts of healthy and diseased donorsReveal organ-specific description of the immune-regulation of interacting GPCRsAs an outcome, we will elucidate how GPCRs can be regulated by ligand binding, membrane interactions, and immune recognition. This will provide new learnings about the function of GPCRs, shed more light on the role of GPCRs in human health and disease, and lead to the development of more specific drugs with fewer side effects.
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2025 - 31 December 2027
    Background: The lungs start to develop during pregnancy and continue to grow and mature during the first 20-25 years of life. Thereafter, lung function declines due to physiological lung ageing. This lung function trajectory can be affected by host factors including diseases and exposures across the entire life-course. Sub-normal trajectories are associated with poorer health-outcomes, not only chronic airway disease (e.g. asthma and COPD) but also cardio-vascular and metabolic health, as well as premature death. Aims: The overall aim is to better predict chronic airway disease across the life-course. Here we propose that lung function charts could be used both for children and adults to monitor lung health status with time. To this end, we have recently introduced our freely available online Lung Function Tracker tool. Going forward, we hypothesize that 1) lung function trajectory modelling and long-term risk prediction of chronic airway disease will be improved by incorporating individual-level clinical, lifestyle and environmental data in the models 2) systemic biomarkers measured early in life provide prognostic values for long-term disease risk up to adulthood 3) genetics and upper airway methylation and gene expression data will give insight into mechanisms related to onset and progression of chronic airway disease As such, the specific aims in this project are: 1) To improve current lung function trajectory and risk prediction models for chronic airway disease by incorporating individual-level data 2) To identify single or combinations of systemic biomarkers measured early in life that associate with chronic airway disease 3) To identify omics features that correlate with, and predict chronic airway disease Workplan: The BAMSE study with data from 4089 participants followed from birth to age 28 years will be our primary cohort for data analysis and hypothesis testing. Blood samples, biomarkers and omics as well as clinical and lung function data are available from repeated follow-ups. Thanks to our long-term national and international collaboration, we will reach out to other cohorts for replication and validation of results, including SCAPIS. Significance: The expected outcome of the project is to develop a new prediction tool that reliably may predict long-term individual lung function trajectory and asthma/COPD risk
    to identify biomarkers for early disease detection, and to elucidate mechanisms of chronic airway disease.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2025 - 31 December 2028
    Lung development starts in utero and continues during childhood, and can be altered by several host and environmental factors during the life-course. A range of lung function trajectories exist in the population and sub-normal trajectories are associated with several health outcomes, including respiratory (such as asthma and COPD) and cardiovascular disease.Here we propose that lung function charts could be used both for children and adults to monitor lung health status across the life-course. To this end, we have recently introduced our freely available online “Lung Function Tracker” tool.Going forward, we hypothesize in this project thatlung function trajectory modelling and long-term risk prediction of chronic airway disease be improved by incorporating individual-level clinical, lifestyle and environmental expsure data in the modelsSystemic biomarkers measured early in life provide prognostic values for long-term disease risk up to adulthoodGenetics and upper airway methylation and gene expression data will give insight into mechanisms related to onset and progression of chronic airway diseaseThe expected outcomes of the project are 1) a new prediction tool that reliably may predict long-term individual lung function trajectory and asthma/COPD risk
    2) exploration of new mechanisms of airway disease and identification of novel targets for early disease detection and 3) key genes and pathways for impaired lung function and asthma/pre-COPD will be identified.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 December 2023 - 30 November 2026
    The purpose of the proposed project is to identify the key molecules and molecular pathways that underlie severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infections.We have collected samples from several unique cohorts, including patients who have suffered from hypoxemic pneumonia, mucormycosis, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, and long COVID. We are focusing on young/pediatric patients without comorbidities, hypothesizing that monogenic inborn errors of immunity may underlie severe viral infections in otherwise healthy individuals. We will perform genetic analysis using whole exome/genome sequencing, immunological evaluation including measurement of viral-specific antibody response, autoantibody profiling, single-cell RNA and B-cell receptor sequencing, and additional relevant functional assays.The research will be carried out by four internationally recognized investigators with complementary expertise. During the initial phase, which will last for 6-12 months, patient samples will be collected, and genomic sequencing will be performed. Subsequently, immunological and other functional assays will be conducted.The project aims to identify the underlying molecular pathogenic mechanisms in patients with severe COVID-19, which could lead to better prevention strategies and more targeted therapies. Additionally, the research pipeline we develop may serve as a model for how to approach the identification of the etiological factors, pathways involved, and therapy for future pandemics.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2027
    Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CMD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, including myocardial infarction, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Although young people are not typically affected by CMD, the risk factors for these conditions are present during the early years of life, affecting long-term disease risk and the disease burden in the adulthood. Air pollution, transportation noise, and greenness are among the modifiable risk factors that may influence cardiometabolic health. Previous research on causes of CVD often focuses on single risk factors while effects from multiple environmental exposures in young adults are understudied. This project aims to investigate how air pollution, transportation noise and neighborhood greenness contribute to the development of a wide range of early markers of CMD and to elucidate characteristics that may modify the relation between environmental exposures and CMD traits. The project will be based on the prospective population-based birth cohort BAMSE comprising 4000 individuals followed from birth up to young adulthood with repeated questionnaires and extensive clinical investigations. Exposure to environmental factors is estimated based on residential address history. The results of the project will serve as a basis for policy makers in decision making processes, particularly related to environmental policies and urban planning as well as for individual risk assessment and prevention in clinical practice.
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2022 - 31 December 2024
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2022 - 31 December 2024
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2021 - 31 December 2021
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2021 - 31 December 2023
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2021 - 31 December 2022
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2021 - 31 December 2024
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 August 2020 - 31 December 2020
  • European Commission
    1 January 2020 - 30 June 2025
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2020 - 31 December 2022
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2020 - 31 December 2022
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2021
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2021
  • Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2020
  • Show more

Employments

  • Professor/Specialist Physician, Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, 2019-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2012
  • Doctor Of Philosophy, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2006

Leadership and responsibility assignments

  • Head of department, Department, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-
  • Head of department, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-

Supervision

  • Supervision to doctoral degree

    • Fredrik Larsson, Do common neonatal conditions affect respiratory morbidity in later childhood and adolescence?, 2029
    • Shizhen He, Biological mechanisms behind health effects of air pollution exposure from childhood to adulthood, 2024

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